Never Say Never
by serafina19
Summary: Lois tells Oliver about her engagement to Clark, which re-awakens his memories of his own rejected proposal. The scars of his relationship with Chloe will always be there... but will they heal?
1. Chapter 1: Promises, Broken and Kept

_A/N: I thought this would be an overused title, but apparently it hasn't been used in Smallville-land yet. Instead of deciding on the direction of my other stories, I started this. No worries though, nothing is going on hiatus... yet. _

_I'm going to try to stay in one point of view, even though I think I write Chloe better than Oliver. _

_This picks up five years after the events of season 9. Sorry I'm not planning on filling-in-the-blanks other than one flashback in this chapter (italics). However, let me know if my math is off, I tried to make sure the time line is consistent, but mistakes happen. Enjoy... Sera._

**Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. I own nothing. Everything belongs to their respective owners. The title is inspired by the song by The Fray.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Promises, Broken and Kept**

It was a beautiful day in Star City. I stood at the window and looked at the place that had become my home once again. Part of me wondered why I ever left this city, but that only surfaced bad memories.

I shook them off and headed to my desk to get some work done. I had been working to build Queen Industries into something my parents would be proud of. While the company wasn't completely revived, I believed we were on the right track and the company would become stronger than ever. Apparently, all it needed was my undivided attention.

These days, my photo didn't appear on the society pages or the tabloids. Instead, I was the face of the business section, as Queen Industries continued it rise from the ashes. It was a boring, busy life, but one I needed after my life in Metropolis. I missed the gang and delivering vigilante justice, but I couldn't live that life anymore. However, I kept up my workout habits and my archery practice, which came in handy for the rare criminal encounter.

Next thing I knew, the buzzer sounded. I walked over and pressed the button. "Hello?"

"Oliver? So it is true... you actually work for a living now?"

I couldn't believe my ears. "Lois?"

"You were expecting someone else? Doesn't matter, let me up."

You clearly haven't changed, have you? I pressed the button to let her up. I hadn't seen in a year. She stopped by once to get me to come back to Metropolis and to tell me everyone missed me, but I refused. There was one particular someone who didn't miss me, and I couldn't face that person again, not after what happened between us.

There was a knock on the door, but I before I could reach the door, Lois already had the door open.

"Wow! Your place looks so... grown up."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Thank you?"

She smiled at me. "I've read every article on Queen Industries since you moved and Clark fills me in on your chats. You've really turned your life around."

Ironically, it was Clark that he had stayed in touch with since the move two years ago. Lois wanted to talk about what-ifs, and the league made me miss the nights I spent alongside them. Clark listened, and understood when to back off. "Want a drink?"

"Yeah, water was five dollars on the plane, how silly is that?"

"Had I known you wanted to visit, I would have sent the jet."

"That would have ruined the element of surprise. There's no fun in that."

"So what brings you here to Star City?"

"Do I really need a reason to visit my billionaire ex-boyfriend with exemplary archery skills?"

"Lois."

"So where do you hide the green leather and archery gear in this place?"

"It's not here."

"What? You left Green Arrow behind in Metropolis?"

I shrugged. "I've put all of my energy into Queen Industries. I left my gear at the clock tower."

Raising her eyebrows, she said, "So you hung up your tights?" Her toned changed before her next sentence. "The team misses you, you know."

"Lois, please, don't start up this again. I'm not exactly retired; they call me when they need me... or whenever she's not involved."

"You two still aren't speaking? It's been two years."

That was a conversation I definitely didn't want to start, but I suppose it was my fault. "Why are you here Lois?"

"Right." She moved to take a glove off her left hand. I knew that Clark was going to pop the question, but I wanted her to think I was surprised. "I'm getting married, can you believe it?"

I smiled. "I knew deep down, below the hard, savvy reporter shell, there is a sappy, romantic girl."

She smacked my arm. "Hey!"

I laughed. "Well, you wanted him to need you, so congrats!"

"Thanks."

"When's the big day?"

"July 15."

"Three months? I didn't think you would be so eager."

She blushed for a moment. "Well, we don't have to book for availability at the farm, and it's a small ceremony."

"Really? How many?"

"Just family and the league, which includes you, by the way."

I grimaced at her. "I'm not sure that was a great idea."

"Come on, Clark wants you to his best man. He doesn't have a lot of guy friends in his life that he trusts to deliver a speech about us."

"I know, he mentioned that a while back. Although I think he can find someone better than your ex, don't you?"

"Wait, you knew?"

I shrugged. "He stopped by two week ago, wanting advice on how to propose, but I told him not to worry. With your family, the secret is to not be a blonde billionaire with good intentions. Good intentions are always useful, but he hasn't dyed his hair and come into money recently?"

"Oliver, that's not funny."

"My track record speaks for itself, doesn't it?"

"She's been a mess since you've left."

"What do you think I've been? Heartbreak can work both ways, Lois."

"You could try talking to her."

"No, all that would do is stir up bad memories. She doesn't deserve that."

"If my memory serves me correctly, you didn't give up on me that easily."

"No, but I learned something from us."

"How to be a coward?"

"How to take a hint. It was never going to happen Lois. It took that moment for me to realize it. She was never going to say yes."

"You can't even say her name, can you? Oliver? _Chloe_ loved you, she still does."

We stared at each other for a couple moments and tried to soak in everything we said.

"Give my best to Clark. You both deserve happiness."

"Please come Oliver, for our sake. You two deserve happiness too."

"Stop playing the matchmaker, Lois. I'm going to give her what she wants, even if it kills me."

Her phone rang. "I'm not leaving until you agree to come, so don't think this conversation is over."

She picked up her phone and talked for a couple of moments. Meanwhile, I stared out the window into the Star City skyline. I remember that day like it was yesterday, and it killed me to leave her, but it was the only thing I could do.

Lois walked towards me. "Sorry, that was Clark. I told him you needed more convincing."

"Lois, it's not going to happen."

"Chloe wants you to come."

"No she doesn't."

"That's what I thought when Clark told me, so I called her."

I turned from the window and looked at her. "And?"

She gritted her teeth for a moment. "I'm not going to say that she was thrilled about the idea, but she wants you to be there, for the team's sake and ours."

"I'll think about it."

She nodded. "Okay." She walked to the door and left.

I walked over to my desk and opened the top drawer. Inside, buried under stacks of paper was a picture of us during happier times. I couldn't bring myself to throw it out; it was the last thing I had of hers. I missed her smile, the way she could light up my darkest hour with a single grin. Together, I thought we were unstoppable, but apparently, we were our own weakness. My eyes moved to look at the last thing I tried to give her. You think I would have learned from the McDougal Inn not to give her presents.

**

* * *

**

"_We can't do this."_

_I closed the box and stood up. "Why not?"_

"_It's unprofessional... the team..."_

"_So what we have been doing for three years was wrong? Come on, the team doesn't mind, they had bets going." _

_I know I didn't help my chances by proposing in Watchtower, where Jimmy died. However, this place was important to us too, but she still couldn't let him go. The pass code to Watchtower was still the date of Jimmy's death, and she visited his tombstone every three months. Don't get me wrong, Jimmy was a great guy, I was just hoping that four years after his death, I had given her a good enough reason to move on._

"_I'm sorry." She said that, but I could tell she was holding back tears._

_I put the box in my pocket and stepped towards her. "Okay, you're not ready. I'm willing to wait, so just forget it."_

_The tears starting falling and I hesitated coming any closer. "Ollie... what if I'm never ready?"_

"_What?"_

"_You know my track record with men? They end up being psychos and they try to kill me. The good ones die on my behalf. I can't let that happen again."_

"_Have you seen my track record? No feelings, just continuous usage for my money and connections. Apparently, the good ones see me for me, but apparently don't want me. Or maybe that's just the way your family is."_

_She was taken aback by the last comment. I knew it was a low blow, but I was tired of her excuses. I couldn't stay in a relationship that didn't go anywhere, we would have to face this moment eventually. I gained my composure and started walking towards the door._

_As a final attempt to get me to stay, she pleaded, "I'm sorry."_

_At the doorframe, I turned my head slightly and said, "So am I," and walked out, never looking back to see her face. I loved her, but I couldn't take this anymore. I was done._

**

* * *

**

A three-year relationship and seven years of friendship disappears on the first sign of commitment. I should have seen it coming; I never should have gotten involved with Chloe Sullivan. But I had, and I had fallen hard. I thought I had gotten to her too, but apparently her past still haunted her. She would never relax and let herself love again. I couldn't hurt her anymore, so I had to go.

However, she wanted me to come to the wedding. I wanted to see everyone again, and maybe now that the wounds have healed, we can overlook the scars of our relationship. Lois and I were able to get past our differences, and Clark and I have never been on better terms. She'll be different, I know that, but Lois was right about one thing. I was being a coward. Lois and Clark's wedding gave me the best chance to set things right.

I picked up my phone and dialled my pilot.

"Good morning, Mr. Queen. How may I be of assistance?"

"How soon can you take off for Metropolis?"


	2. Chapter 2: We're Just Two People

_A/N: The feedback on chapter 1 was unlike anything I could have imagined. **Thank you so much everyone**. I'm caving on the whole one viewpoint rule... at the rate I'm going, it will probably 50/50._

**Disclaimer: Chapter title is inspired by "Run" by Rex Goudie **

* * *

**Chapter 2: We're Just Two People... **

I spent the entire journey on the plane wondering what I was going to say to her. How was I supposed to face her after what happened? Do I pretend that nothing happened, or do we risk everything and talk about it?

There was only one way to find out, and there was no turning back now. I was here... Metropolis.

This is the easy part, business as usual. From plane to car, from car to penthouse, from penthouse to bed for the night. However, I was ready for whatever life was going to throw at me in the coming months.

I opened the door to the penthouse and sighed. So many sweet memories covered with a bitter ending.

I heard a creak in the floorboard while I was closing the door. Someone was here. "Hello?"

"Oliver?" I walked towards the main room and saw her standing there.

"Chloe." I couldn't believe that I actually said her name; I hadn't said it since moving.

She grabbed her purse and started walking towards the door. "I'm sorry; I didn't think you'd be here yet. I just came to grab a few things."

"No, don't go yet. How have you been?"

She stopped dead in tracks and stared at me. "I've been better, but I've definitely been worse." She smiled. "I've been busy, between the wedding and Watchtower, I've hardly had enough time to sleep."

I never realized how much I had missed her smile until that moment. "I'm glad...that you've been busy... not that you haven't been sleeping."

She laughed momentarily and then gestured towards me. "So, you've been..."

"Good, yeah, Queen Industries has never been better."

She nodded. "Yeah, I've read all about it. I'm proud of you Oliver."

"How are things with the League?"

"How do I put this? Clark's... not quite the leader you are. Other than that, things are running pretty smoothly."

We stared at each other for a couple of moments and opened our mouths a couple times in an attempt to continue the small talk, but it was pointless. I smiled at her. "I shouldn't keep you from Lois. She probably has you up to your head in errands."

She rolled her eyes. "Well, you know Lois." Before shutting the door behind her, she faced me and sighed. "It's good to see you Oliver."

"You too."

And with that, she had left. That went well I thought, but what was she doing here? She clearly wasn't expecting me. I investigated the penthouse, trying to find any clues to why she would come here when she knew I was coming back, but there was nothing. It was almost like I never left.

* * *

Good going Chloe, you just _had _to go back one last time. Now it's just another thing that you have to inevitably explain to him even if you don't want to.

It was hard to see him at right now. Romance was blooming around me especially with the upcoming wedding, and his presence didn't make it any easier. Dinah and AC had been dating for a year, while Mia had become Bart's new crush. The closest thing I got to a date was with a computer keeping an eye on the team.

I followed the Star City Post, even though Lois and Clark advised me against it. It was interesting to see the contrast between Oliver's reaction to traumatic events. Jimmy dies and Oliver's a permanent fixture on the society page, drinking away his life. I did _... that..._ and he turns into a business leader. So what's that supposed to mean?

There was no evidence that he had moved on, which was strangely satisfying and heartbreaking at the same time. I knew I wasn't just another conquest of his, but part of me hoped he wasn't suffering like I was.

Then again, it wasn't completely my fault that I didn't fully explain my answer that day; he left before I could tell him the truth.

I entered the elevator to Watchtower and tried to put the encounter behind me, but I couldn't. I knew that I would have to talk to him eventually, and we would have to try to put the past behind us, for Clark and Lois' sake if nothing else. However, I knew it wasn't going to be that easy.


	3. Chapter 3:Can You Still See the Heart

**Disclaimer: Chapter title inspired by "All I need" by Within Temptation. Also a small disclaimer to sanaazzy on YouTube, it was through that video I checked out "Run", but I failed to realize that I used the same title. Thanks to iheartBL who pointed that out.**

_A/N: So this chapter came out of nowhere, but then again, what kind of a person would I be if I didn't give you Chloe's side of the fiasco? Flashback in italics.  
_

* * *

**Chapter 3: Can you still see the heart of me?**

I walked up to the main computer and stared at the broken cell phone that lay behind the keyboard. Everyone asked me what it was doing there, it was useless, or so they thought. It may not be functional, but it served a purpose; a symbol for that day.

* * *

_He was mad, not that I blamed him, but I couldn't continue to be this way with him. I just hoped that we could talk about it later and move on._

_My phone rang. Vic? Why was he calling me instead of using the communicator?_

"_Vic? What's up?"_

"_It's AC. Clark got him to the hospital, but the diagnosis isn't good."_

_I put my hand up to my mouth in shock. "What happened?"_

"_I don't know. We separated for only a moment I swear. "_

"_Don't beat yourself up. I'll be right there."_

"_We're just getting there ourselves, so there's no hurry." He paused for a moment. "You wouldn't happen to know what happened to Oliver, would you?"_

_I shook my head and then realized that he couldn't see it. "He's not with you?"_

"_I haven't seen him, and Bart did a full sweep of the place. Did he ever check in after leaving Watchtower?"_

_That's when I saw an earpiece at the front table. I walked over to it and picked it up. "Vic... he..."_

"_You turned him down?"_

"_How did you..."_

"_Who else was he going to tell? You deal with him, and then come visit, okay? "_

_I hung my head. "He won't want to talk to me Vic. I'm not sure that we will be able to get past this."_

"_Well, you won't standing at Watchtower. At least go talk to him. Bye."_

_I hung up and immediately called Oliver's number. Voicemail._

"_Okay, so I know I'm probably the last person you want to talk to right now, but it's AC. He's in critical condition at the hospital and the guys were worried that you never checked in. You don't have to call me back, but at least go visit." _

_There. This way gives him space and he'll get a chance to see AC._

_I looked up after I hung up and saw Dinah with a worried look on her face. I knew what was going through her mind. _

"_Is he going to be alright?"_

"_I don't know; Vic didn't give me details."_

"_I... Chloe... he can't..."_

"_Stop." I walked up to Dinah and gave her a hug. "I know. You hide it well, but I guess it's a girl thing to be able to see beneath your shell."_

"_I learned from the best."_

"_Um..."_

_She ignored me and continued as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "You know that you'll have to tell him how much he means to you one of these days. He's a great guy Chloe, and it's clear that you love him."_

_I tried to change the subject. "Even if he's unconscious he deserves the truth."_

"_No, we're not like you and Oliver. Sure, we've suffered a couple bumps and bruises, but never together. We don't have that mutual understanding of each other."_

_So much for that I guess, it was time to be honest. "Yeah, about that..."_

"_What?"_

"_Dinah, Oliver and I..."_

"_You broke up?"_

"_I don't know, he proposed and I freaked out. I asked him what would happen if I wasn't ever ready and he left."_

"_Remember when he was abducted and you blurted those three little words? You were a mess for months! Why the change of heart?"_

"_I... just didn't want to lose him."_

"_So how does sending him away help?"_

"_We go back to being colleagues and he stays safe."_

"_Are you aware of how ridiculous that sounds? Forget the eventual scenarios, Chloe; you might have just lost him now."_

_I snapped my head back up to look at her. _

"_Yeah, stop playing with your emotions Chloe. Go, go get him and talk about this before he does something you'll both regret. I'll get Bart to pick me up."_

"_Think about what I said okay?" I walked out of Watchtower and headed down in the elevator. _

_Dinah was right. What was I so afraid of? On the positive side, I technically didn't give him an answer; I just walked my way around it. _

_I dialled his number again, hoping he'd answer. Nope, still voicemail._

"_Oliver, please talk to me. I... have to tell you something." Come on Oliver, what was going on? I went up to the penthouse and opened the door with my key, but there was nothing, no sign of life, let alone a sign of him._

_I was about to call him again when I heard buzzing behind me. There on a bar stool, was Oliver's phone. It was Bart._

"_Hey Bart, it's Chloe."_

"_Hey 'licious, you guys make up yet?"_

"_He's not at the hospital?"_

"_Dinah said you went to talk to him."_

_I ran to his bedroom and started pulling out drawers. Each one was almost empty. I started crying and shook my head. He wouldn't... he didn't..._

"_Chloe, you alright?"_

"_He's gone Bart." I screamed and threw the phone on the ground and crumbled to the floor covering my face with my hands._

_He was gone._

* * *

AC made a full recovery and he and Dinah took it slow before becoming the league's new power couple. However, we all knew the league wasn't the same without Oliver. Clark tried out his leadership skills, but we all knew he was better solo.

That cell phone was everything I had of his, except for the penthouse and the Green Arrow gear, but it wasn't the same without him. The phone reminded me of my mistake, and it was a reminder of what happened when I opened my heart to someone. Whenever that happened, someone would be crushed, literally or figuratively. I couldn't let that happen again. I have to face him, but I won't let him get to me again.

I picked up the phone and dropped it in the garbage can. It was time to move on from that incident. It was time to forget about my relationship with Oliver Queen.


	4. Chapter 4: Familiar Faces

**Chapter 4: Familiar Faces **

I honestly had no idea where to go, but I figured the Kent farm would be a good place to start. I had gotten one awkward reunion out of the way, but I hoped Clark could help me with the rest. I knocked on the door and waited a few moments before Clark, who was clearly surprised to see me, opened it.

"Oliver? I can't believe it; you came."

Next thing I knew, he put his arms around me to hug me…and potentially bruise a couple of my ribs. "Whoa big guy. Can't… breathe."

He backed off. "Sorry."

I rolled my shoulders and stretched out my arms. "Don't worry about it; it's just that my work-out routine doesn't protect me from superhuman strength."

"Come in. I wasn't expecting you."

"Didn't Lois tell you I was coming?"

"Thinking about it is not the same as coming. It means a lot."

I raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? You didn't know?"

Initially he looked confused, but eventually he smiled. "You ran into Chloe already didn't you?"

I figured she would have called Lois regarding our encounter, but I guess that didn't mean that Clark knew anything. "Yeah, she was at my penthouse when I got there. Any ideas why?"

He shook his head. "Chloe's ...been distant lately." Nice Clark. I guess I should learn to expect subtle jabs at our failed relationship.

Before I had a chance to respond I heard a familiar voice.

"It's you."

This was the reunion I was dreading almost as much as Chloe's. "Mia."

She walked up to me, punched me in my stomach, and then walked out the door. "See you Clark."

Slightly wincing from the combination of the Clark's and Mia's damage to my body, I turned to Clark. "Well... at least her training has been kept up. I guess I have you to thank for that."

"Yeah, but Dinah stepped up too. Though you may want to keep an eye on Bart; I think he's moved on from Chloe."

I chuckled. "He never learns, does he? I think she's a tougher challenge than Chloe. Speaking of Bart and Dinah, I also hear you're leading the League now. You could have told me."

"I didn't want you think you were being replaced."

"Replace me? I'm just a guy in green leather with decent archery skills. I highly doubt that I'm needed anymore."

"Come on, Oliver. Everyone misses you."

I rolled my eyes. "What is that, my catchphrase? Sorry if I'm a little skeptical."

Clark shrugged. "Regardless of what you believe, there's been a void since you left."

I clapped my hands in an attempt to change the conversation. "So, I've been told that your wedding's in three months. I'm here to help, and not just with my bank account."

Fortunately for me, Clark took the hint. "Most of it has been taken care of due to the small guest list."

"How small?"

"Mom and Perry are flying in from Washington tomorrow. Other than that, it's just the League and hopefully John."

"That is small, but what about the General?"

Clark gritted his teeth before responding, "Yeah, don't mention him around Lois if you don't want her to turn into Bridezilla. She's pretty pissed at him right now."

I laughed at the prospect of Bridezilla-Lois. "Can't really blame her though."

"Yeah, well, it doesn't matter to me. This way, everyone can be themselves because there's no secrets."

"Wait, how did Perry find out?"

"He found Watchtower by accident right before a League meeting."

"He always seems to stumble into these things, doesn't he? Did he ever find out about your mom?"

"No, so don't mention anything. He still thinks that the Red Queen is out there, but mom retired a long time ago."

"Hey, just out of curiosity, I've always been meaning to ask if you get the tights comment as much as I did with your new costume."

He shook his head and laughed. "Sorry Arrow, that's your thing."

"I figured."

"Regarding the wedding though, I assume you already have a tux all picked out."

"Yeah."

"I expect a speech from you at the reception."

"I figured, so I started it on the plane."

"Finally, I am going to need your assistance in putting together our registry. Lois thinks it's the only thing I can't screw up, but she doesn't fully trust me."

I said while raising an eyebrow, "Let me get this straight; she wants two _guys_ shopping for your wedding registry?"

He shrugged. "That's what _I_ said, but it's not shopping per say. She gave me a list of certain things; she just left a few things out for me to decide.

"Well, that wasn't what I was expecting, but sure."

"Oh, I almost forgot. We're starting dance lessons tomorrow. I know you don't need them, but you know me and my two left feet."

I chuckled in remembering Clark's attempt at dancing, but then I sighed. "Probably not the best idea, don't you think?"

"You two have to face it eventually, and besides, it would be an opportunity to see everyone again."

I sighed again because he was right. "What time?"

* * *

"Maybe he's not coming." I told Lois. Honestly, I hoped that he wouldn't show up, things had been awkward enough already. Since when did he need help in the dancing department anyway?

Clark looked at Lois reassuringly. "He'll be here. He promised."

Bart walked up to me and said, "Can I dance with you in the meantime?"

Then the door opened. "Sorry, the meeting ran late."

Is it wrong that I would rather dance with Bart than Oliver? It didn't matter though, it wasn't about me. I grinned and tried to maintain a poker face. "Well, better late than never right?" I followed that statement with raising both of my eyebrows.

Bart looked down, but I patted him on the back as I walked over to Oliver.

He placed his hand carefully on my back. "Very subtle."

I placed my hand on his shoulder, refusing to look up at him. "If the shoe fits."

We started following the instructor, who was completely oblivious to our bickering.

As he twirled me, clearly showing off, he asked, "So this is how it's going to be, huh?"

"You tell me, you're the one who ..."

Lois pulled out of her formation and grabbed me from Oliver and out of the rehearsal space.

"Chloe, you promised."

"Two years of frustration doesn't disappear suddenly when he decides to show up, Lois. Do you even know why he bothered coming after barely speaking to any of us in two years?"

Lois looked away from me, which made me realize that she tricked him.

"What did you tell him? Wait, I know. You told him I was okay with it, didn't you?" Lois continued her silence, so I continued, "Then you should have expected this. We're not getting back together."

"Fine, but could you at least tolerate each other's company for three months?"

I sighed. "I'll try."

We walked back into the ballroom and I tried to smile at Oliver as we lined up again.

"Quite the one-eighty from the penthouse."

Be nice Chloe; it's for Lois. "Well, you surprised me. With the wedding, I've been stressed and..."

"Save it Chloe... I probably deserved it. For what it's worth, I'm sorry." Seeing my reaction, he continued. "Yeah, I know, two years too late, but I want to clear the air."

I laughed. "You mean that you don't want Clark to pummel you for screwing up his wedding."

He brought me in closer and whispered in my ear, "That too."

Clark probably gave you the same talk Lois gave me, didn't he? Well, if he was willing to hold a poker face for three months, so could I.

* * *

After a while, things settled between me and Chloe and we survived the dance lessons. We parted and it didn't take long for the League to welcome me back.

"Hey Boss, what's up?"

I turned around and smiled at Bart. "I'm not the boss anymore, Bart."

"You'll always be the boss to me. No offence Clark."

Clark waved his hand in the air. "None taken."

AC smiled at me. "How have you been Arrow?"

It was the first time I had seen AC since I left. I found out later what happened and I felt really guilty. What do you say to someone after you abandoned them? "I'm… I'm so sorry."

"Water under the bridge Oliver, you couldn't have prevented what happened." He paused and then smiled. "It's just good to see you back in Metropolis." He held out his hand, which I proudly shook.

"I'm glad you're okay."

"You're not the only one." Dinah said, while elbowing AC in the arm.

"You've grown your hair out again."

She fiddled with her long blonde hair and grinned. "Like it?"

"Yeah, it looks good."

Vic looked around, not really sure what to say. "Well… we'll see you around, right Oliver?"

"Right." I shook my head. I knew this wasn't going to be easy, but it hurt seeing their reaction to my return to Metropolis.

However, the reunions didn't stop after the League walked away. "Would it kill you to smile Oliver? These are happy times."

"Perry, it's nice to see you." I sighed. "I'm just get acclimatized again."

"I know, weddings can get awkward, then again, getting married isn't for everyone. I doubt I'll ever get Martha to say yes."

"How can you stand it?"

"It hurts, but she's worth it." He patted my shoulder and said, "If she's worth that much to you, losing her isn't worth having it your way." He hit my shoulder again and then walked away. I wondered if that last remark was some sort of hint. It was then that I noticed Chloe heading for the door. Even behind her tired eyes, she was as beautiful as the day I left. Stop it, Oliver. She clearly wants nothing to do with you, and you can't blame her.

Unfortunately Lois saw me looking at her and walked over. "Real subtle Oliver."

"You're a smooth operator Legs, I'll give you that."

"Hey I just the put the pieces on the board. I stand back once the game starts. With you two, strategy's everything, and one wrong move could change everything."

Really Lois, another chess metaphor? "Just don't get your hopes up, okay?"

"Does that mean you're trying?"

"It took this much to be polite to each other. I'm not trying anything yet."

"Well, I need your fine eyes for picking out wedding gifts in the registry. You're joining Clark tomorrow right?"

"I'm more than willing to help, but I'm surprised that you don't want more of a say in something like this."

"It's the easiest job on the list, but you need to keep an eye on him. Smallville will just pick up anything and say that it looks nice."

Clark walked up and hugged Lois from behind. "It's under control Lois. Right Oliver?"

I grinned and began walking to the door. "It will probably be the easiest thing that I do while I'm here."

* * *

_A/N: This was initially two chapters, but they aggravated me so much that I decided to shorten it and combine them into one chapter. It's not my best, but hopefully you enjoyed it._

_Oh, and as a side note, I missed Hostage, so I don't know much about Perry's character. So he might be a little off-character, but hopefully for the little dialogue he has, it worked._


	5. Chapter 5: Something About You

**Chapter 5: Something about You **

Come on Clark, where are you? It's your wedding registry and you're twenty minutes late. I sat on the nearest couch in the furniture section, but it wasn't long after that I looked up and saw Chloe walking towards me. The easiest thing I do, huh? Famous last words.

"I should have known."

She sighed. "Yeah, that's makes two of us. Sorry to keep you waiting, but I've been trying to come up with a reasonable explanation. In the end, I figured we should just get it over with."

"I'm surprised she got Clark to go along with it."

She narrowed her eyes at me. "You've been gone too long, Queen. I can't believe you would forget the effect Lois has on Clark."

I laughed. "Still, you'd think one of them would be here to pick out their wedding gifts."

There was a glint in Chloe's eyes before she stared up at me. "Want to make them pay?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"We scan the ugliest stuff in the store, and then 'influence' the League to buy it for them."

I held the scanner towards an umbrella stand covered in cartoon frogs and said, "I'm in."

The next few hours were spent scanning some of what they wanted, and somethings they wouldn't dare to look at. It was the perfect plan, as we kept each other company while maintaining some personal space. That, and if some of the items were being bought, we were getting back at Clark and Lois for tricking us. We were aware of Clark keeping tabs on us and deselecting most of the joke items; however, I scanned the initial umbrella holder at the last minute and bought it before he had a chance to change it.

As we walked out the store Chloe peered into the bag. "They're going to kill you, you know that right?"

"Consider it payback for all of their not-so-subtle matchmaking attempts."

"You're being a good sport about it, but you have to admit that to an extent it is working."

"We've become 'yes' people in the process of making friends happy, that's not a crime. If we had a choice in the matter, we would have talked eventually."

"You really think so?"

"You don't give us enough credit Chloe. We're professional people; we just needed a cool-down period." I knew that was an understatement, but it shouldn't surprise either of us that we would eventually be able to see past our history.

"So it hasn't been that bad?"

I smiled. "Surprisingly, it has gone a lot smoother than I expected."

She nodded. "I'm glad. Everyone is glad you could make it."

"Even you? After the initial verbal spar at the dance lessons I mean."

"Yeah, it's good to see you, but I owe you an apology too. I... I could handled that situation better."

We both stopped at the street corner and looked across the street at Metro cafe. It was one of the many turning points for us, and we both realized it. However, we had survived each other's company so far and her legs were probably tired from shopping.

"Coffee?"

She looked at me and smiled. "You know what? Sure."

I laughed. "Shocker. When have you ever turned down coffee?"

"What can I say? It's reliable." Seeing my face she frantically apologized. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it."

She shook her head while staring at her feet. "No, it's not fair to you. I'm just as much to blame as you are... maybe even more so."

"I know what you meant, Chloe. Why don't you grab us a table while I get coffee?"

"You don't know what I want."

"Large almond mocha, right?"

"Am I really that predictable?"

"When it comes to this place, yes."

As I bought the coffee, I realized that we had spent an entire day together without incessant arguing. More importantly, we treated each other well despite having no one else telling us to cooperate or behave. Maybe she was right; maybe the trickery was getting to both of us.

As I walked back to the table, she opened her change purse and placed four dollars and sixty-two cents on the table. "Here."

I placed the coffee on the table and pushed her money towards her. "While I'm impressed that you gave me exact change, save it."

"Thanks."

"It's the least I could do; today was probably the most fun I've had since being back in Metropolis."

She raised an eyebrow as she took her first sip. "Really?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I find subtle payback highly entertaining."

She smiled. "I had fun too."

It was my turn to be surprised. "Chloe Sullivan having fun? Alert the Daily Planet, this is front page news."

She snickered as she placed her coffee cup back on the table. "Says the workaholic CEO. Do you ever miss the life you had here?"

I sighed. "Everyday... but I had to go."

She retorted. "You didn't have to go, you could have stayed. We could have..."

I quietly interjected. "Stood by awkwardly as the League crumbles under us? It's not like I don't regret leaving before seeing AC, but it was the right thing to do."

"At least you're back now. Do you think you'll stay after the wedding?"

I sipped my coffee and looked right at her. I honestly didn't know; part of me never wanted to leave again, but there were too many bad memories. "It's definitely a possibility. So what are you buying them?"

"I gave money towards their honeymoon. Then again, it's mostly your money."

Despite leaving Metropolis, I still funded the League, and maintained Chloe's cover. Not the easiest relationship to have, then again, when was our relationship ever easy? "Why did you do that instead of gifts?"

"I wanted to support the time when I'm free from their bickering and their sad attempts to improve my personal life."

I chuckled. "They've been that hard on you?"

"Consider what your visits with Clark and Lois are like. Now remember that I live with them."

"Fair enough."

She looked at her watch. "Oliver, I'm so sorry. I promised Lois that I would…"

I grinned. "Go. I'll see you around."

She smiled back and grabbed her purse as she stood up. "Thanks Oliver for today. I needed this."

I sat alone sipping my coffee as she walked away from the table. I thought leaving was the right thing to do before, but now I wasn't so sure. Distance clearly did nothing to help our friendship, the League or… anything. Did I really make the right decision?

* * *

_A/N: Sorry about the people actually looking forward to the Clark/Oliver shopping trip, but what would a story of mine be without Lois having some trickery up her sleeve? But... I kind of want to write it now. So let me know if you want to see it. Also, to show my gratitude towards your support so far, I will give each member that reviews this chapter a sneak preview of the next chapter.  
_

_From here, we jump to three days before the wedding, and the drama starts to unfold._


	6. Chapter 6: Pancakes

**Chapter 6: Pancakes**

Pancakes. I could faintly smell properly-made pancakes. Where am I? Lois can't cook and Clark can't cook pancakes. Clearly nothing _that _bad happened last night, because let's face it; the perpetrator wouldn't stay behind to make breakfast.

I slowly opened my eyes and it all became clear; Oliver. It explained why the smell seemed familiar, but how did I end up in his guest room? I tried to retrace my steps, but nothing made sense. I was sitting on a bar stool after letting Lois and Dinah continue the bachelorette party without me, and then… nothing. Why would I have called him?

No! We didn't...

Whew! Not only were my undergarments still present under my pyjamas, my clothes were neatly folded at the end of the bed. Why was I so worried? Oliver always was a gentleman and we had been getting along. He wouldn't do that to me.

Wait...these are _my_ pyjamas. I slowly got out of bed, but I stumbled trying to stand up. Okay, maybe I had one too many shots of tequila. I walked carefully over to the dresser and pulled open the third drawer... my drawer.

It was full. Oliver never bothered to empty it? He's been here for almost three months, and my stuff's still here.

With my hand firmly planted on the wall for balance, I walked towards the main room and saw Oliver in the kitchen.

"Good morning."

I rubbed my eyes in response to daylight. "Morning... Ow!" Stupid daylight. Then again, it wasn't Mother Nature's fault I was hung over. I moved my hand to try to cover the sun in my eyes, but I still wasn't quite up to walking and I almost fell over. Fortunately, Oliver rushed over and grabbed my hand to help me stand back up.

"Easy there, sailor. Have a seat." He walked me over to a chair, and after pushing me in, he walked over to close the blinds. "Better?"

"Much."

Back in the kitchen, he grabbed the kettle and poured some steaming water into a mug.

"I don't drink instant coffee; there is a limit to my addiction."

He picked up a lemon wedge and placed it as well as the mug in front of me. "Not coffee, Sidekick. Last I checked pancakes and hot water with lemon was your hangover remedy."

"What happened last night? Did we…?"

"No!" He said quickly, as he lifted his head and almost dropped the flipper. He continued to stare at me as he regained his grip. "You don't remember?"

"I don't remember calling you."

He gritted his teeth before his mouth widened to a grin. "Well I guess it shouldn't surprise me that much. You could barely stand up last night." He snickered for a moment. "You didn't call me. Well, you called me, but you were trying to call Clark."

"What?"

"You dialled my number and starting calling me Clark and told me to pick you up. I carried you home from a bar and put you in the guest room." He paused for a moment before asking, "What do you remember from last night?"

"I remember Lois leaving with Dinah to party. I was only supposed to have a couple drinks and then go home but I was a little out of it because weddings make me…" I looked up at him, realizing that this probably wasn't the easiest conversation for us to share. "Well, they make me reflective."

"Like birthdays?"

"You still remember me saying that? That was ages ago."

"Why not? You obviously still do." He grimaced at me. "You're not pulling out the operetta on me again, are you?"

I squinted my eyes for a moment and then pointed at him. "You have my full permission to stop me if I do." I pulled back my hand to scratch my head. "Did I seriously call you Clark?"

"Only on the phone, after that it was a little crazy."

I brought up my mug and sipped it. "What do you mean?"

"I had to show the bartender a photo of us in order for him to believe that I wasn't going to hurt you. I also told him that he had full permission to say that I picked you up in case of any lawsuit."

"You just happened to have a photo of us with you?"

He hung his head and sighed. After he flipped the pancakes, he reached into his pocket for his wallet. "I've carried this photo in my wallet for four years. I… I didn't want to forget old times." Four years. All this time he's held onto that memory. He pulled out the photo and placed it on the table. "You remember that day?"

I smiled. "Yeah, it was our first vacation… other than travesty of the McDougal Inn I mean." We went to Mexico and spent two weeks on the beach. This particular photo was taken on our last night at this restaurant he forced me to go to. We were… happy.

"Yeah, you refused to leave your beach chair."

My head snapped up and protested, "Hey, I've lived in Kansas my whole life and I'm not used to soaking those kinds of rays. So sue me."

"In case you didn't notice, I don't need the money."

I pushed the photo back to him. "Why didn't _you_ call Clark?"

He shrugged. "I didn't want to bother him; you were only a couple blocks away. However, _you_ may want to call Lois."

He passed me my phone, which displayed fifteen missed calls. "All Lois?"

"She called me twice too, but I didn't pick up."

"Why not?"

"I don't want her getting any ideas. If anyone should be telling her the truth, it should be you."

"But you're the one who knows what happened."

"You're still the more reliable source, even with a hangover. Here." He passed me a plate of pancakes. "Eat up."

He remembered my hangover remedy, he kept my drawer intact, he carried around a photo of us, and he looked after me last night. This was the old Oliver... _my_ Oliver, but did he ever really change?

I looked at him and smiled. "Thanks. I know it hasn't been easy during these three months, but you've been…"

I stopped talking when he placed his hand on mine. I hesitated for a moment and then relaxed. Why didn't I call him? Clark had all of his contact information and I let him slip away. We were just staring at each other, but after a while, there was a loud knock on the door.

Oliver removed his hand. "It's probably Lois."

Lois yelled from the other side of the door. "Yeah, it's Lois, Oliver. Let me in!"

We chuckled simultaneously and then he said, "You still have your spare key?"

"Oliver, if you don't open this door in five seconds, I'm calling Clark!"

I smiled and then nodded. "It's in my purse."

As he turned off the stove element, he said to me with a smile, "See you later." He opened the door and looked at Lois. "This is where I take my leave."

Lois stared at him dumbfounded as Oliver walked out the door. Well, this was going to get interesting. She walked in the penthouse and closed the door.

"You mind telling me what happened last night, cuz?"

* * *

_A/N:_ _I hope you're enjoying happier times in Chlollie-ville, but the story's not over yet. Thanks for all the feedback for the last chapter, hopefully the sneak peek was worth it.  
_


	7. Chapter 7: It is what it is

_A/N: Thanks for all your patience during the hiatus; I'm hoping that the last half will meet your expectations._

* * *

**Chapter 7: It is what it is**

After I stared blankly at her in an attempt to avoid that conversation, Lois persisted. "Don't give me that Chloe. What happened here?"

"I'm fine, Lois."

"While I'm glad that you're okay, you know I'm not letting you off that easy."

"Look, I just got up and I have a headache. Can we talk later?"

Lois shook her head. "Nope. Spill."

Giving up, I grabbed the fork and began eating my pancakes. "I'm not allowed to shoot tequila by myself anymore."

"Tell me something that I don't know."

"Oliver makes good pancakes?"

"Very funny... Hey, didn't I give you those pyjamas for Christmas? How did... oh."

"Yeah..." I said, rolling my eyes, "I apparently called Oliver from the bar last night."

Lois had grabbed my phone and was looking at it silently for a couple minutes.

"Sorry I didn't call you back . Oliver must have left it here so I would sleep."

"About our mutual ex, are you aware that he's still number two on your speed dial?"

"So what?"

She scoffed. "If you were in a jam, he'd be the first person you'd call."

I shrugged. "He was, but not for that reason. After Oliver left, I guess I never bothered to change it."

"How come it's not me or Clark? It's been two years."

"That was my system."

Lois' eyebrow perked up in interest. "System?"

"You're going to think it's silly."

"Try me."

"Clark broke my heart _three_ times. Well, actually more than three times, but for three different women. Lana, Alicia... and you." I tried to smile before adding, "Sorry."

"Whatever. What's mine?"

"For all my normal problems, you're my _4_11."

"So what makes Oliver number 2?"

I bit my lip and shook my head. Lois could probably tell that I was fighting tears, but I still didn't want to cave, so I whispered, "He's a man of second chances."

"Second chances, huh? This is sounding like you want to give him one."

Staring at the door, I calmly replied, "I've given him so many second chances that I'm scared to do it again. I mean, what happens after the wedding, Lois? He just ups and leaves me again to pick up the pieces?"

"Be honest with him Chloe. If you're the only reason he's going to leave, maybe you can make him stay."

"He deserves to be with someone who makes him happy."

"No, what he deserves is the truth, something both of you intend on avoiding. Chloe, I love you both but you need to open your eyes and realize you both want the same thing." She clapped her hands in front of my face and added, "Wake up!"

I grabbed my head. "Lois... hangover."

"Good! Let it sink in, maybe then you two will get a clue. Eat your pancakes; we've got some work to do."

* * *

Leaning against the bar, I knew that being here wasn't the best course of action, but there was something that I just couldn't shake out of my head. Staring into the glass, I was reminded of the cause of last night.

I had never seen Chloe that drunk before and to be honest, it kind of scared me. The weirdest part was that the walk home was the closest we have gotten to discussing our past.

"_Oliver….go home."_

"_Lean on me or else you'll fall over."_

"_No, I have to prove to myself that I can stand without you. You... you left, Oliver." As she tried to move away from me, she continued, "You left me."  
_

Grabbing her hand, I said, "_Chloe, I'm trying to help you."_

"_I missed you, you know... I..."_

I never found out the end of that sentence because she vomited all over my pants and shoes, and was barely conscious after that. So I carried her to the penthouse. I'll admit that it was a little surreal looking in her drawer because I had avoided it like the plague since coming back, but I wanted her to be comfortable.

The truth was that I felt empty without Chloe in my life. All this time, I was trying to avoid the truth because it was always about how everyone missed me, but last night was the first time that Chloe said that she missed me. Alcohol apparently brought out Chloe's true feelings, but what else was she trying to tell me?

"Isn't it a little early to be drinking?"

I peered up and saw Clark standing over me. "Not after what I been through for the last twelve hours."

"Hey, have you heard from Chloe? Lois and I have been looking for her."

"Why do you think I'm drinking?"

Pulling out the bar stool next to me, he sat down. "This should be good."

"She called me last night... looking for you. I didn't want to bother you so I picked her up and she stayed at my place last night..." I looked up and saw Clark's reaction changing, so I quickly added, "in my guest room alone."

"You guys were getting along, so what's the problem?"

"Clark, it's happening... again."

"What exactly?"

"The what-exactly-are-we relationship. You know that I never stopped loving her, even after leaving Metropolis."

Clark shook his head. "Seriously, one of you has to compromise at some point."

"What are you talking about?"

Raising an eyebrow, Clark asked, "You don't see it?"

"I don't know what I see. When I look at her, it seems like nothing has changed in two years... that she still cares for me."

"I'm sensing a 'but.'"

"The down side is that two years ago, she was afraid to confirm anything. She was satisfied in the shadows, away from a real relationship. Sure, she tried it out, but our relationship went its natural course."

It was then that Perry's words hit me. She was worth it, and I definitely didn't want to lose her again, but I couldn't pretend that it didn't happen. In the end, I never would be good enough for her and that hurt more than anything. I shot my drink back and slammed the glass on the table.

I put down some money for the bartender and got up to leave. "She's with Lois at the penthouse, just so you know."

"Oliver, what are you going to do?"

I shrugged and left the bar without a word. It was the truth. As much as I wanted to stay and give it a second chance, I had no idea what I was going to do. However, the truth had to come out. We had to honest with each other before the wedding, no matter the consequences.


	8. Chapter 8: Return of the Tights

**Chapter 8: Return of the Tights **

There was only one person left to call after John cancelled due to a new lead in a case. I had promised Clark the week of his wedding off, and usually Bart would jump at the chance to help out, but even he was unreachable. Staring at my phone, I tried convincing myself that I could call him. It's just one phone call, I thought, and if it went to voicemail I could justify another call to Victor or Bart. I dialled the number and put the phone up to my ear.

On the third ring, a familiar voice answered, _"Oliver Queen."_

Well... here goes. "Ollie… it's me. Could you patrol tonight? Clark obviously can't and John's been delayed."

"_What about AC?"_

Date night with Dinah. "He's … busy."

"_Dinah_?"

"Um… she's busy, too." Geez, why couldn't these guys just 'fess up to him already? It's not like he didn't suspect anything. Then I remembered that I wasn't one to talk, Oliver and I hid our relationship for months.

"_Victor? Bart?"_

"Can't get a hold of either of them."

"_Alright, but you owe me Tower."_

He hung up before I had a chance to respond, not like I had an answer anyway. I already owed him from last night and this morning.

I put my earpiece in and waited for him to come online. After a few minutes, I started humming to myself, trying to calm myself down to make the current scenario as un-awkward as possible.

"_I'm ready when you are, Watchtower."_

Grateful that Oliver couldn't see my reddening cheeks, I adjusted myself in my chair. "How are the tights fitting?"

"_How many times do I have to tell you that they're not tights?"_

I couldn't help but smile. Is it wrong that I had missed his distorted voice and the 'tights' debate? "Hey, if you got it, flaunt it, right?"

"_So you couldn't get a hold of anyone...that's your story? You're sure that you didn't want to do one last patrol for old time's sake?"_

"It's as if they all synchronized their phones to be off tonight."

"_Maybe they're at the bachelor party?"_

I chuckled at the prospect of Clark at a bachelor party. "Nice try, but I don't think he's having one. Besides, I don't think you'd miss a chance on something like that."

"_Good to know my reputation still precedes me_." The voice distorter helped hide his tone, but I could tell he was disappointed.

I wanted to say something to convince him otherwise, but there were higher needs for tonight. "Mugging on Samson. Can you take it?"

"_Have a little faith Tower, I'm not that rusty._"

While I was waiting, I felt a draft on the back of my neck. "I figured you would have wanted tonight off, Clark." Turning around, I saw Clark wasn't my only visitor. "Bart? Vic? Where were you guys? I was trying to get a hold of you."

Bart was about to say something when Victor elbowed him in the stomach. "Been busy, sorry. We came as soon as we could, but I guess you got a replacement."

It was then that I realized Bart's poker face had slipped and even Clark looked curious. I rolled my eyes. "Really guys? Again?"

"_Come in, Watchtower._"

I shushed my audience. "Okay Arrow, there's a robbery in progress..."

"_I see it. Arrow out._"

I wanted to give my company at Watchtower a piece of my mind, but before I could turn around, I heard an abrupt sound coming from the communicator.

"Arrow, this is Watchtower. Do you read me?"

No response.

I tried to keep my composure before trying again. "Arrow, what's your status?"

"_Chloe."_ With one word, a glimmer of hope was restored. Part of me wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but part of me wanted to lecture him on the use of codenames.

"What's going on?"

Initially all I could hear was static, which caused my heartbeat to race. Then I heard his wavering voice, "_I can't… must… dying_."

"Ollie! Come in... come on, don't..." After a few moments of silence, my voice quieted to a whisper, " _please_."

Nothing, not even static. Hadn't I seen enough movies like this? Just one last mission, I'll be fine. Damn it, Ollie. Why are you doing this to me again?

I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Chloe..."

Pushing his hand off me, I said through gritted teeth, "Save it Clark. I don't want a word from you... any of you. I need some air." I stormed past Vic and Bart, doing everything in my power to hold back tears for the second time today.

It was a cold night, but that shouldn't surprise me. I was surprised I could feel anything. All I could think about was the night when he was abducted at Earth station and how it took everything I had to keep from breaking down. That feeling, that sinking terrible feeling, it was back, only worse. We were different people, we led different lives, and we hid from everything that we shared.

When Oliver eventually came back, despite the bruises, burns and broken bones, I thought life was going to become... well... as normal as it gets with our lives. Then he pulled out that ring and all of the bad memories of my past flooded my brain. I thought I would let him down in some way and I couldn't do that to Oliver because he meant too much to me.

So I let him go, which was a mistake, I see that now. For two years, I isolated myself and became a shadow of who I was. Every month, on the 'anniversary' of the rejected proposal, I visited his penthouse trying to remember the good times we had, and maybe even gain the courage to apologize. The worst part was that each time there was a small part of me that hoped to open the door to see Oliver smiling at me, asking me what took so long. But it never happened.

Then I found out Clark invited him to the wedding, and I was angry. For two years, Oliver had refused to set eyes on me and everyone somehow expected both of us to just forget everything that happened between us. The one silver lining I held onto was that I never expected him to come back to Metropolis, but Lois did her thing and he showed up. Then we started talking and genuinely hanging out without any interference. So far, we had been avoiding our past relationship, which was probably for the best, but it was clear this morning that sparks were flying again and our history together was becoming something that we couldn't ignore for much longer.

Which leads us to tonight... to now. Go figure the moment my heart wanted to trust him again, he cuts out again_._ Noticing my reflection in a store window, I realized I hadn't kept the tears at bay. He wasn't going to get to me again, I had told myself after he caught me in his penthouse. I was supposed to forget about Oliver Queen after a couple days. How I ever believed that line, I'll never know.

Ruffling through my purse, I found his penthouse key and stared at it. One more visit, clear your head. Who knows, maybe I've blown everything out of proportion. I mean, it was a bank robbery, Oliver wasn't that out of practice. He's probably fine, but if he is, I couldn't hold back anymore. Lois was right, it was time to honest with Oliver, he deserved that much.

* * *

_A/N: 'The talk' is coming, I swear, but what can I say... I'm a sucker for parallelism, as you'll clearly see in a couple of chapters... even though technically the events happened in the opposite order. Next up: the reason this story went on hiatus. _

_As a response to red blue wing: I missed the introduction of Lois' character on Smallville, so I'm assuming that Chloe saw Lois as the nail in the coffin known as 'Chlark,' regardless of mythos. (Not that I have anything against the couple, but for me Clark and Chloe work better as friends)_


	9. Chapter 9: Sharp as a Knife

_Author Note: This story has been a tumultuous ride… especially the last month. I've learned a lot about myself and my writing, and I couldn't have done it without your feedback. Hopefully the wait was worthwhile. The goal is to finish this story within the next 7-10 days.  
_

_**Dedication**: I almost gave up on this story. I was going to apologize for how I let this story fall apart and how I had given up the hope that I could make it better… make it right. Before I made it official, I PM'd a writer whose work I admired to ask the following:_

_Was I crazy? Was this plausible? Did any of this actually sense?_

_When I needed reassurance, she gave me what I needed to fix this chapter and rest of the story._

_So, as a thank-you, this chapter is dedicated to the amazing _brittany34_... for believing in this story, even when I thought I didn't._

**Disclaimer: The title inspired by "Salt Skin" by Ellie Goulding**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Sharp as a Knife, Fit like a Glove**

For my first patrol in a while, it had a been a bumpier ride than I would have liked, but it could have been a lot worse. The partner initially caught me off-guard with the knife, but I lucky that I was able to take him down before the cut got too deep.

But what worried me was hearing Chloe's tone become anxious as the static increased. I could only hope that my entire message got through, but I wanted to check in at Watchtower to be sure. What I wasn't expecting was to find Clark as I approached the building.

"I thought you had the night off."

Clark let out a sigh of relief once he saw me in the alley. "I did, but I went to Watchtower to check on Chloe."

"Along with Cyborg and Impulse?"

"What?"

"I heard Chloe say their names through the earpiece. I'm not stupid Clark. When she said that no one was available, I figured you guys were up to something. So what happened?"

"Dying was the last word we heard from you and after you cut out, Chloe stormed out of Watchtower."

"Not me… this." I pulled out the earpiece and shook my head. "Next time, I'll consider a better word choice."

"Good plan, you shook her up."

"Look, let her know that I'm okay. I'm heading home."

He shook his head in shame. "I don't know where she is."

My eyes widened at the prospect of the guys just watching her leave Watchtower. "What do you mean you don't know where she is?"

"That's what storming out means…it was clear she didn't want anything to do with us. But now she's not answering her cell."

"The streets aren't especially safe at this time Clark. I can't believe that…."

"I know that, okay? Impulse is out looking for her as we speak. Hold on." Clark paused for a moment and then nodded. "Impulse, calm down... Yeah, Arrow's fine…okay… I'll let him know. Boy Scout over and out."

"What's going on?"

"Bart saw Chloe go into your building. She's probably checking to see if you're alright."

"You willing to give me a…" I didn't have time to say 'lift' because Clark had already grabbed my arm and within seconds I was standing alone in front of my door.

"Thanks Clark."

I turned the handle to find Chloe standing in the main room. After closing the door behind me, I laid my glasses and gloves on the table and began contemplating the right thing to say… it was clear we had to talk.

"Clark told me you're looking for me."

Chloe quickly turned her head and started walking towards me, but she stopped soon after, clearly second guessing herself. "You're okay... of course you're okay."

"I'm fine."

"What happened out there?"

"A dead communicator and a terrible word choice on my part. But enough about me... what's going on with you? Since when do you just bolt out of Watchtower?"

"When you cut out, I thought you were in trouble."

She was holding something back, that much I could tell. "Last time I cut out, you formulated a plan. You could have at least sent Bart or Clark to check up on me instead of going out there yourself… you could have gotten hurt, Chloe."

"Thoughts started to fill my brain... I needed air, I needed space to think about decisions I had made, but in the end, I had hoped that I overestimated the situation. It's good to know I was right."

"Well, next time you may not be so lucky. Be more careful next time."

I headed to put away the Green Arrow suit when I felt Chloe grab my hand.

"Ollie, you're bleeding."

All this time, I had forgotten about the small cut in my arm.

She tugged me towards the couch. "Sit down and let me take care of this."

"Chloe, it's just a scratch."

"Maybe, but if it gets infected, you won't let me hear the end of it. "

I sat on the couch as she went to the bathroom to get her old first-aid kit. I had forgotten that was even there, but then again, it wasn't exactly something I had been looking for.

She set it down on a table and smiled at me. "How about we clean this up?"

I turned away for a moment, but my body immediately tensed up when she made contact with the cut.

Chloe just sighed as she continued to move the cotton ball on my arm. "Just a scratch huh? You'd think that you'd get used to this; you've been injured enough times."

"Are you trying to kill my ego?"

"Come on Ollie, it's not like you have confidence issues." Placing medical tape on the gauze over the wound, she backed away. "Keep that on for tonight. Hopefully it won't leave much of a bruise."

"Thanks."

"It's like you said, one last time for old time's sake."

I mumbled under my breath. "Maybe this won't be the last time."

"Hmm?"

"Nothing, how about you make yourself comfortable while I get you something to drink?"

"No... stay there. I think it's safe to say that we should avoid alcohol for the time being, or at I should. How about a glass of water?"

"Sound great."

After a minute, she settled next to me on the couch and handed me my glass.

She said with a smile, "To Clark and Lois," and we chinked our glasses before taking a sip. For a while, we just stared out into the night sky, almost afraid to face each other.

"How did it feel being back in the suit?"

"Great... like I told you, I missed old times."

"Me too." She paused for a moment as her expression changed. "Hey, Ollie."

"Yeah?"

Staring into her glass, Chloe said, "What happened to us?"

"By us you mean...?"

She rolled her eyes. "Don't play dumb, Oliver. You know what I mean."

"So we're talking about this now?" I had been expecting it, but the concept of talking about our past scared me none the less.

"Don't you think we've avoided it long enough?"

"Yeah, I guess we have."

"So why are you looking at me like I'm crazy for bringing it up?"

"Every time the conversation came up, something always happened. Lois would always seem to need you at that moment."

"I'm the maid of honour, it's not like I can just ignore Lois."

"I know."

"We've never been people to ignore our problems, or our past."

Placing my glass on the table, I shook my head. "Is that what I am... a problem from your past?"

"No, of course not...it's just that..."

"You didn't want me to come back."

"Okay, I didn't. I was bitter that you were coming back for someone else. It was clear you wanted to leave this life behind, but then you came back, which narrowed down that I was the problem."

I shifted my head in her direction. "Hardly, Chloe. I left because I wanted you to be happy. I came back because part of me hoped Lois wasn't lying when she said that you wanted to see me."

She eventually met my gaze before asking, "So... you came back for _me_? Why?"

I leaned my head against the top of the couch and stared up at the ceiling. "Because although seasons may change, it's amazing how some things never do."

"Oh."

Crossing my arms under my head, I briefly smiled. "Yeah... _oh."_

"It's not like that."

"Don't worry about it Chloe."

"That's not fair, Ollie. You don't know what I've gone through tonight."

"Clark gave me an idea."

"He may have super hearing, but I doubt he knew what was going on in my head."

She grabbed my arm and yanked it from under my head. "Look at me, Oliver. For a moment I thought I lost you. I mean, it's silly of course, especially considering what you have survived, but the abrupt sound, the static... it brought back memories. Memories that, even though I knew that you were okay, made me assume the worst."

Tearing her gaze away from me, she added, "Despite everything that happened between us, I... care about you Oliver, even if I still don't understand why you left."

I stood up and took a couple steps away from the couch. "Come on, Chloe, you were standing right there."

"I just... can't believe that you would leave because of that. Before, you would never leave the team out to dry."

"Ever consider that maybe my heart wasn't in it anymore?"

"No, because when Lois rejected you, you never stopped doing the right thing."

"Remember what got me to that point? Or should I say who got me to that point?"

"I wasn't the only one. I just gave you the push that you needed because back then you still had the hero in your heart. Don't tell me that you've lost that."

"It was still different with Lois. We didn't work together, and you had a lot more to lose because of our fallout. I had a life in Star City, and I could go there while you still lived on here. Unfortunately, in order to do that, I had to go."

She shook her head in disbelief. "You really still believe that, Oliver? You abandoned everything that mattered to you."

"Do you really think that things could have gone back to normal after you turned me down?"

"It could have, but you never gave it a chance."

"Forget the team, Chloe; _I_ couldn't have gone back to the way things were. Having you saying no after I laid my heart out to you..."

"You caught me off guard, Ollie. I didn't think you'd propose in the middle of a mission."

"I wanted to be honest with you while I still could."

She glared at me as she stood up. "So instead of giving me some time to think about it, or heck, let me finish _my_ honesty, your solution is to unexpectedly leave town? AC was in critical condition for two weeks and there wasn't even an email from you! I mean, I'll take the jetsetter over the death wish, Oliver, but do you always have to live by the ultimatum?"

"You were never going to be ready; why pretend that it's ever going to happen? I had my answer."

"I wasn't breaking up with you Oliver."

"Could have fooled me."

"Seeing that ring reminded me of Jimmy and how it went terribly wrong. Those were the first words I thought of, which probably in hindsight weren't the best choice. Dinah talked to me and made me realize that my intentions weren't entirely clear, so I wanted to talk to you about it before you did something rash, but I was too late. "

"I needed to clear my head."

"For two years?"

"I don't know."

Chloe crossed her arms as she stared out at the Metropolis skyline. "According to Clark, you couldn't talk to him about me. Lois said that you couldn't even speak my name, which I heard firsthand by the hesitation in your voice when you first got back."

"It hasn't been easy."

"I know, but it might have been if we faced this sooner... but I guess that's always been our problem."

"What?"

"We could make the big decisions for saving the world, yet even though we understood everything about each other, we always seemed to avoid the conversations that could have saved us."

"We are terrible at relationships, aren't we?"

"Yeah."

"So what now? Is this your way of asking me to stay, Chloe?"

Chloe began walking towards me. "This is me trying to clear the air between us."

"I understand that, but where do we go from here? Where do we stand?"

She reached out for my hand and grabbed it. "How about we turn the clock back and try this again?"

"Are you willing to have some of the strings that come with a relationship?"

"I'll need some time."

"I understand that."

"And could we keep it to ourselves for a while?"

I quickly smirked as I put my hand on her waist. "Not so sure about that with the wedding a couple days away."

"I just don't want to take attention away from Clark and Lois."

If that was all she was thinking, I was going to let it slide, but there was something she wasn't telling me.

"What's the plan after the wedding?"

"Probably safe to say that we let them have their time before we tell anyone."

Raising an eyebrow, I asked, "So... when do we tell everyone?"

"Why rush anything?"

I released her hand and took a couple steps back. "Because I refuse to repeat history. We tried having fun and it brought us here. The truth is that I love you Chloe, and at this point, it's all or nothing.

"Is it?"

"We love each other... that's what happens."

"Oh." She seemed disappointed, and that scared me.

"You do love me, right?"

"That's not a question you should have to ask me."

"So say it."

"What?"

"I want to hear you say it."

"Ollie, I..." She opened and closed her mouth a couple times before bowing her head in defeat.

"Finish that sentence Chloe. Please."

"I..." I could tell she was trying, but the words wouldn't come out.

I shook my head. "You still can't say it after everything you just said? After everything we've been through?" I waited for her to respond, but her lips never moved. "Wow."

"Oliver, please... listen to me."

"No, I can't… I love you… but I can't just be in the shadows with you."

"But…"

"Save it Chloe. On the bright side, this gives us a chance to really move on before we completely destroy each other."

"That's it? That's what you want?"

I simply shrugged before walking towards the window. "That's the way it has to be."

Turning my head to watch Chloe walk to the door, she whispered, "I'm sorry" as she left the room.

"So am I." I whispered back, bringing up memories of two years ago.

* * *

In the morning I called my pilot. To me, there was only one option left. It wasn't what I wanted... far from it... but it had to be done.

"_Mr. Queen, how are you doing this morning?"_

"I need to leave a couple of days early. Can you get the jet up and running by this afternoon?"


	10. Chapter 10:Losing Faith,Finding Directio

**Chapter 10: Losing Faith, Finding Direction**

After sleeping a grand total of three hours the previous night, I slowly headed to the kitchen to caffeinate myself, only to find a note on the fridge.

_Keep your head up cuz, I'll be back after I take care of something. _

_Lo_

She was trying to be cryptic, but I knew exactly what 'something' meant.

Don't kill him Lo, I thought, because this time... it's not his fault.

I choked. There was no other way to say it. He essentially dared me to open up, and all I could do was stand there.

I love you Oliver... why was it so easy to think, yet so hard to say? Furthermore, I couldn't believe that two years apart, ensuing awkwardness, and one ugly argument... he still loved me.

So I guess it was my turn to walk away. Now I have a better understanding of how he felt two years ago, especially because I thought it was the best thing for our relationship. I was wrong then, and last night, when I had the chance to make it better, I was too afraid of a couple stupid words.

I came home, hoping to go to sleep and forget the whole thing, but instead I found Lois frantically calling people looking for me. I didn't even know why she was there. Clark had been her first phone call and he knew where I was. However, I knew that sending Lois away was pointless. She wanted the truth, something I couldn't even admit to myself.

To keep her calm, I gave her the short version. Seeing the note made me re-think my decision, but it was too late for that. Lois could see past any lie that I fed her, but the truth was that I couldn't pretend I was okay when I wasn't... even if he was serious about leaving. I had even burnt my wedding speech while Lois was asleep because I couldn't talk about how awesome love was now that I had lost him. I stirred my coffee, but I knew that caffeine wasn't going to solve things... at this point, I wasn't sure what would.

I shook out of my daydream when I heard the knock on the door. It wasn't necessary early, but I hoped that if I didn't answer, that they would leave. However, the knocking persisted, so I opened the door only to roll my eyes the moment I saw the person on the other side. This was not someone that I was hoping to see this morning.

"What do you want, Tess?"

Sizing me up, she rolled her eyes. "Wow, he really got to you."

Walking away from the door in frustration, I said, "If you're here to mock me, could it wait? You'll have more than enough opportunities to use this against me."

Tess followed me inside, shutting the door behind her. "Against my better nature, I'm actually trying to help you."

"Why?"

"Oliver holds a strong front, but he's breaking inside. We've seen him at his worst, Chloe, and we know how self-destructive he is. If I have to witness another suicide attempt, the press will kill the company. Then I'll have to pick up..."

I waved my hand trying to cut her off. "Point taken. What does any of this have to do with me?"

She narrowed her eyes. "He's leaving, and you're the last person he talked to before his pilot. What did you say to him?"

"How do you know that?"

"That doesn't matter."

"Neither does our conversation."

Tess crossed her arms and held her ground. "Well, I'm not leaving."

"That's fine... I'll go."

As I grabbed my coat, Tess yanked my arm. "You know it's either me or Lois that will set you straight, and with the stress level she's under right now, I think you'd prefer me."

"Yes, because I always enjoy our little chats. Besides, Lois already knows what happened last night."

She scoffed. "I doubt that."

"You really want to know what happened?"

"No, I asked what you said to him."

I couldn't believe that I was about to do this, but if it meant that she would leave me alone, it was worth the risk.

"Fine… I'll tell you. I wanted things to be how they were before Zod branded his chest." I shrugged. "Take the complications out of it."

Tess released my arm and walked towards the window. "Oliver can't catch a break, can he?"

"Excuse me?"

"He's had one deal breaker in his relationships. He didn't want it with me, so he scared me away. He wanted it with Lois, but she wanted Clark. He wanted it with you, and you likely choked."

"You mean..."

"Commitment, Chloe." That word hit me like a truck, and Tess could see that she was right. "From our chit-chat in Watchtower all those years ago, you said you lost faith in people and you were waiting for him to leave."

"Yeah...look how well that turned out."

"That was three years before he actually left. You can only string a guy along for so long."

"He knew I wanted to keep things simple."

"Leaving simplifies things doesn't it?"

Taking my mug, I gulped the majority of my coffee, trying to hold myself together. "He wanted more, I know that, but I didn't want him to get hurt."

"Are you listening to yourself? Sure, Oliver has faults, but he's more than capable of taking care of himself. It's for that reason that his double identity hasn't been exposed."

"I... wanted to think about it before giving him an answer. But he left."

"What was it? Your answer, I mean."

"It doesn't matter now."

She laughed. "That answer says it all. Why didn't you tell him that?"

"I loved him Tess. That's wasn't enough for him to wait for my answer. Telling him now won't make a difference."

"You loved him? How many times did you tell him that?"

I remembered that night perfectly, the walkie talkie in my hand and flashing red dots surrounding his single green dot. I thought I was never going to see him again, so I did the unthinkable... I said it. "Once," I said quietly.

Tess rolled her eyes because she knew the circumstances of when I said it. "You never said it to his face? No offence Chloe, but it's a miracle he didn't leave you sooner. I can't believe you'd tell me before you would tell him."

"I can't believe I'm still talking to you about this!"

"Neither can I, but apparently I pressed the right buttons. Your friends tend to handle your relationship subtly when the truth is you need to be smacked in the face to see your mistake."

"We've already established the deal breaker and he wants to move on, Tess. I should do the same."

"Please, because that worked so well two years ago. You held onto the remnants of the relationship pretty tightly after he left. I'm still trying to figure out how you two never spoke during that time."

"I didn't hold onto it."

"Really? Then what would you call your monthly visits to his penthouse?"

My eyes narrowed, trying to figure out how she knew that. "How would you... are you spying on Oliver?"

"Hardly, I just wanted to make sure that his double life wasn't compromised. You being there was purely coincidence."

"Cut the crap, Tess, how would you like it if…"

Tess interrupted sharply, "Coming from someone who used to call herself Big Sister, you can't really lecture me on privacy."

"I'm not that person anymore."

"Clearly, you've regressed into your shell so much that everyone wonders what happened to you. The Chloe Sullivan I remember never backed down from a challenge, and you never conceded when things got tough."

Tess looked up and shook her head at me. "I came here thinking that you'd never actually tell me what happened."

"I thought it would get you to leave."

"Lois wanted answers, and she knew you were leaving something out. She knew about the cameras and she asked for my help."

"So I take it you've been eavesdropping too? Then why the confrontation?"

"Please, you two were insufferable to listen to before he left on a jet plane. The cameras are strictly visuals, so I told Lois I would talk to you."

"But Lois hates you."

Tess tilted her head, acknowledging the statement. "True, but everyone else probably would have assumed it was wedding jitters. There's also the fact that we're the only ones who know what you're going through."

I slid my hand through my hair. "Look how well that panned out for both of you; I should have learned from that." I sighed as I sat down on the couch. "You know what? He can leave for all I care."

"You're a good secret keeper, Chloe. I'll give you that. Lying, however, isn't your strong suit. Besides, there's one little difference between our relationships."

"I'm blonde?"

"Very funny, but no. He hasn't moved on either, Chloe. I've been around Oliver long enough to know that by this point after a breakup, there's usually someone in the picture. However, the only pictures he carries with him these days that photo from your Mexican vacation, and the photo of him and his parents. In Star City, between his office and his home, he keeps a grand total of one photo. Care to guess who's in it?"

"Just say it Tess."

Tess nodded slightly as a sly grin came across her face."Smiling faces of the happy couple you once were, which is ironic because it sits next to the very thing that split you two up… that little velvet box. I initially found it odd that he kept it right in front of his face, but I guess just like everything else in your relationship, you both were too blinded by other factors to see what you had."

_Sometimes... it's right in front of your face, you just have to want to see it._

I put my head down in defeat. "I never knew."

"What's stopping you Chloe? Clark? Davis? Jimmy?"

"No."

"So what excuse do you have up your sleeve now?"

"We were happy when no one knew."

"Really? You weren't happy when you went to Mexico? You weren't happy when you took that team vacation in Colorado? Because I've seen pictures Chloe... you seemed happy."

"I was, but the team's different."

"You're not embarrassed of him, are you?"

I rubbed my hands up and down my arms; I was getting close to my breaking point, and there was no way I wanted Tess to see me break. "No, it's just... I'm not built for the life he wants."

"Actually, I'm pretty sure that the only life he wants is one with you in it."

"Then why push me away?"

Tess walked towards the door; maybe I held my front long enough. "To keep you happy. He thinks that everyone will forget him."

"That's not going to help anything. The team was getting used to him being here again. He can't just leave them behind because of us."

She picked up my coat and walked back over to drop it on my lap. "That's what he's willing to give up for your happiness."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"I never said it made sense, that's why I'm here."

"I can't let him do that to the team."

Tess turned on her heels and headed once again for the door. "Great, wheels are up in an hour, let's go."

I attempted to put my coat on, but after I put on arm through, I gave up. "Wait... Tess...I can't."

"But you just said..."

"I can't face him, not after what I did to him last night."

"So fix it."

"How?"

"You just told me that you loved him. Is that still true?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"Yes or no?"

"Yes."

"Tell him that."

"What if I'm too late?"

"That's the risk you're going to have to take because sitting around here isn't going to prevent Oliver from leaving."

Tess was right... sitting here wasn't going to bring him back, and I loved him too much to let him slip through my fingers again. I had seen the consequences of those actions two years ago and I couldn't handle going through that again.

I stood up and put my other arm through. "Let's go get him."

Tess simply smiled. "Welcome back Chloe."

As I was putting my shoes on, I looked up at her.

"Hey Tess."

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

Tess' smile widened as she shut the door behind her. "Don't thank me yet. With you two, anything is possible. Just don't screw it up again, okay?"


	11. Chapter 11: Don't Let me Go

**Disclaimer**: I borrowed a line from Veronica Mars- it's one of my favourites and I couldn't resist using it. (It's the one about songs.) Speaking of songs, the chapter title is inspired by the title track by The Fray.

* * *

**Chapter 11: Don't Let me go**

Tired of pacing around the plane, I finally decided to figure out what was going on. I knocked on the captain's door before opening it.

"What's the hold-up?"

After a moment of silence, my pilot turned his seat around to face me. "Sorry for the delay. Miss Mercer called... she has some contracts for you to sign."

"Alright... thanks."

I banged my head against the door as I shut the door behind me. Another ex-girlfriend trying to delay the inevitable... I had already experienced my confrontation with Lois this morning.

I was just about to leave after saying goodbye to Clark when I barely caught Lois' fist before it contacted my face. I hadn't even heard her come in, which must have been some sort of record for her, but it was probably safe to say her intention was to catch me off-guard.

_Loosening my grip as I lowered my arm, I tried to manage a grin. "Good morning to you too, Lois."_

"_Two days! Two days before my wedding and you had to do that!"_

_I sighed, trying to come up with the right explanation, but part of me knew I couldn't say anything to calm her down. "She wanted it to be like old times."_

"_What's so bad about that? Isn't that what you wanted?"_

"_No, I wanted was a sign that she loved me as much as I loved her." I paused for a moment and then grabbed my bag. "I talked to John, he's taking my place."_

_Clearly shocked, she asked, "You're leaving again? In case you didn't notice, that didn't help last time."_

"_Sorry, Legs. Coming back just made me realize why I left in the first place. My plane leaves in two hours."_

_She grabbed my bag from me and threw it across the room. "Chloe doesn't deserve you, you know that? She fell in love with you because you were a hero to this city, sacrificing your status and reputation for the greater good. Now... now you're a cut-out businessman afraid of anything real." _

"_Have you been listening to me Lois? She's the one who afraid of anything real."_

"_Chloe didn't want to rush into anything, and I don't blame her."_

"_She wanted to stay in the shadows, and with me that's not possible, nor am I willing to do that anymore."_

"_But you're living in the shadows right now. You fill out the necessary business articles and you disappear into what I'm assuming is alcohol binges. It's not healthy, Oliver."_

"_Neither is a destructive relationship."_

_Lois grabbed my arm. _"_All functional relationships have their destructive moments. For heaven's sake, Oliver, you're the one who wants the commitment! You're not even willing to fight for it, or for Chloe. That's not the Oliver Queen I remember."_

_ I slid Lois' hand off my arm as I looked at the place where I stood as Chloe exited the penthouse not that long ago. _"_I asked her point blank and she couldn't say it."_

"_That's it? That's all you did? Maybe if you paid more attention to her behaviour in the last couple of months you would have noticed that you made her cave all over again. But no, she doesn't say three words and you're giving up."_

"_What are you talking about Lois?"_

_Lois lowered her voice. "Instead of learning how to take a hint, you should have picked up that people in my family aren't exactly great at admitting our feelings, so we show it in other ways. Clark probably told you this, but like you do with so many other things, you shrug it off."_

_She shook her head and started walking towards the door, but after a couple steps, Lois turned around to face me again. "You want to know why she was here when you arrived?"_

"_To be honest, it has been bothering me."_

"_You said yourself that you wanted a sign that she cared about you as much as you cared about her. That was it, you just didn't see it."_

_Lois picked up my bag and left it front of me. "Once a year, she visits Jimmy, but every month, she comes here." Inches from my face, Lois said, "This... Oliver... is your tombstone."_

"_My what?"_

_She raised an eyebrow. "Do I really have to spell it out for you?"_

"_With your spelling skills, I'll pass."_

_I tried to walk past her, but she placed her hand on my chest and pushed me back. "This is the place where she visits to relive your memory, to remember the good times you two shared. It was the only thing she had left of you. Your tombstone."_

_Still facing me, Lois backed away with her arms stretched out. "Chloe has spent the last two years trying to gain the courage to call you and tell you how sorry she is. Yes, she was afraid, she still is, but you can't blame her when you leave like this Oliver. You've painted Chloe as the villain, but the truth is you played your part in all this too. You bolted when it got bad, and no matter how you try to justify it, you know it was wrong. Now that you're finally talking, you're doing it again."_

"_Lois..."_

_Lois cut me off, likely sick of whatever excuse I was going to feed her. "No... I don't care anymore. I'm tired of defending you when you let me down." _

_She paused, catching her breath. "Enjoy Queen Industries, Oliver, because it's all you have left. If it fails, don't come crying to me about how you have nothing, because I won't be able to lie to you anymore."_

After that she left...it was probably best this way because soon enough, I would be leaving this life behind. I had expected to see Lois, Tess... not so much. But I guess the fallout affected her too and she wanted to make sure I wouldn't fall off the wagon this time.

I heard the door open and I turned to face what I thought was the inevitable showdown with Tess about maintaining my 'sanity,' but it wasn't her.

"Chloe? What are you doing here?"

Chloe took a couple steps inside the plane. "So that's it? You're just leaving without saying goodbye?"

"I made the necessary calls."

"I don't get it Oliver. What happened to you?"

"If you don't know the answer to that question, then it's probably a good idea that I leave."

"Even I knew the answer, that's not the point."

I banged my fist into the back of the chair. "What is the point? If you wanted another argument, you could have just called." I don't know what came over me in that moment, maybe just letting all the frustrations out, but it had startled Chloe.

Once she regained her composure, she turned around to leave. "Okay, if you're going to be like this, I'll go. I'm sorry to have disturbed you, but this was obviously a mistake."

Realizing how childish I was acting, I blurted, "I'm hoping one day you'll find someone who can make you happy Chloe. You deserve it." I wanted her to know there were no hard feelings. You always want the people you love to be happy, even if it isn't with you.

She stopped cold in the doorway. "How do you expect me to leave after you say something like that?"

"One foot in front of the other, through the doorway and..."

Visibly unimpressed, she turned around and stared grimly at me. "Oliver!"

"Sorry."

"I don't suppose there's anything I can say to change your mind."

There was, but I wasn't holding my breath thinking that she'd ever actually say it. "It's the only way."

She shook her head. "It's not and you know it."

"You have a better idea?"

"Running away isn't going to help things. You're a part of my life whether I like it or not."

"So I won't come back. I'll cut off all ties right now, and everyone can move on."

She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment before popping them back open.

"But no one did! I'm not the only one repeating history here. Blocking yourself from the team, the only family you've known, will not only kill you, but it will affect everyone else. I've seen you close to death Oliver, and nothing good would come from it. "

"What do you care?"

"I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you because of me. We can go back to the way things were, and..."

"Didn't you hear me last night? I love you!"

She looked down at her feet and shook her head. "How can you still love me after everything that happened?"

I shrugged. "You can't pick who you fall in love with, Chloe. Feelings like that don't just disappear overnight when we decide to end things."

"It wasn't supposed to be like this." She put her fingers up to her eyes and tried to hide her tears. "It was supposed to be easy."

I walked towards her. "They don't write songs about the ones that come easy." I paused for a moment. "Is it true about the penthouse?"

She looked up with widened eyes and then quickly put her head back down. "Lois told you, didn't she?"

"That doesn't answer my question."

"You were there... you've always been there. Clark has Lois; the team has each other, I... I felt alone."

I put my hand up to her face and caressed it. I said with a slight grin, "If you wanted company, all you had to do is call Bart."

She leaned towards my hand for a moment and stood back up tall. "Come on, Oliver. You know what I mean. Please, stay."

"Why?"

"Because... because this is your home Oliver."

"Do you want me to stay?"

"It's not about me! I won't let you leave this life behind because of what happened between us."

I dropped my hand and looked away from her. "I want you to be happy, and you won't be as long as I'm here."

"How is making everyone around me miserable supposed to make me happy? Did you ever consider that, Oliver?"

I tried to ignore her as I walked towards my seat but I stopped when I heard her whisper something.

"It's not fair. I love you too."

In that moment, my heart almost stopped. She said it.

I had waited five years to hear her say those words to me, but it wasn't until that moment that I realized that it wasn't about the words... it was never about the words. Lois was right, Chloe showed how much she loved me through more unorthodox methods, but that's what I loved about her. The truth was we both screwed up in this relationship, but I would be making the biggest mistake if I let her walk away now.

I turned around. "Chloe, I'm..."

But she wasn't there. I saw her halfway down the runway. I yelled out her name, but she continued to walk away, so I ran down the stairs after her and was able to grab her shoulder to slow her down.

"Care to try again, Sidekick?"

Shoving my hand off in frustration, Chloe tried to walk away. "Why bother? You're leaving, Oliver. Saying it again isn't going to change anything. You said yourself that nothing would change your mind."

Shaking my head, I ran in front of her and grabbed both of her hands. "Actually, I don't recall answering that question."

"Oliver..."

I cut her off. "Chloe...in the nine years I've known you, you've only said it once through a walkie talkie. I'm not used to hearing you say it in person."

She turned around, but was too embarrassed of her tears to look at me. "I..."

I put my hand under her chin and stared into her tear-filled eyes. "Yes?"

"What are you doing?"

I grinned at her, realizing that I shouldn't expect her to say it again so soon. So I told her the truth. "Trying to make up for my colossal mistake on the plane, last night, two years ago, and any other time in-between." I lifted my hand towards her face, but she quickly backed away.

"I can't give you what you want."

"How can you be so sure?"

"You want a normal life... wife... family... model home complete with the white picket fence. I don't know if I can ever be that person."

I shook my head. "I haven't had that kind of normal since my parents died. For a long time, my normal consisted of constant chaos with you telling me where to go. If you wanted a fence in Watchtower, all you had to do was ask."

"What?"

"Chloe, I don't want a fence and I don't want staged photographs and fake happiness. I miss Metropolis, I miss patrolling, I miss the team... but what I miss the most... is you."

She smiled momentarily, and opened her mouth likely to tell me how clichéd that was, but I cut her off as I pull her close to kiss her. After a moment, I had a huge sigh of relief as her arms wrapped around my back. It felt good to have her in my arms again; it made me feel alive in a way I hadn't experienced in a long time.

We both backed off and I lowered my hands to grab her shaking fingers.

She said softly, "I missed you too."

"Nice to hear you say that when you're sober."

"What?"

My smile widened as I threaded my fingers through her hair. "Don't worry about it."

She bowed her head slightly, probably trying to remember the night in question. "Oliver, what else did I say?"

"Nothing... you... got sick after that."

"Sorry."

I placed my forehead on hers. "Don't be."

Chloe stood up straight soon after and turned her head away from me. "What if I never say it again?"

"I can live with that. You risked everything to come here and I should have noticed that. That should have mattered more than any words you could have said."

"What about the whole 'destroying each other' argument?"

"That's part of a relationship, we'll have the tough times to go with the good ones, but as long as we're in this together and we're on the same page, I don't care what happens. Do you?"

She shook her head, but as I tilted her chin to kiss her again, we heard a roar of cheers. We looked around and saw everyone on the tarmac. A smiling Clark and Lois, Dinah and AC walking hand-in-hand, a content Victor, and what was likely a pissed off Mia as she patted Bart's head on her shoulder.

I looked a little further and saw a woman holding out a coffee cup in victory. Tess. I wouldn't have ever imagined she would be the person responsible for today's events. I smiled at her; she acknowledged it and got into her car.

I turned back to Chloe. "You ready to tell them?"

She laughed and then narrowed her eyes at me. "Do you really think they need to be told anything? Clark probably gave them the play-by-play."

I smiled at her as I put my arm around her shoulders. "Let's go Sidekick. Lois is probably ready to tell us to stop detracting attention from her big day."

We stared at each other for a moment and laughed simultaneously as we started to walk towards our surprise visitors. I guess I wouldn't be leaving everything behind after all.

* * *

_**Author Note: This is the first 'romantic' thing I've written (aka first kiss scene ever)... so apologies if it's terrible... I'm working on it. Now for the good news/bad news:**_

_**Bad news: This is likely the last thing I'm posting this year. With finals around the corner, I have to focus. **_

_**Good news: The final chapter (yes... there's only one part left) is the epilogue, and I'm at least leaving this story on a good note. As for "Take a Chance" consider this a favour because if I left it at the next chapter, I'm pretty sure that I'd be getting some virtual tomatoes being pelted my way.**_


	12. Epilogue

_**Author Note**__: __I had planned to finish in January, but I had some time to kill and I was able to finish it, which allows me to focus on my other stories. (Dreaming through the Noise has gone from a one-shot to potentially a four-parter...not to mention the ones I hope to start posting in February)_

_Now for the author rant (of a positive persuasion):_

_I admit, it's going to be hard to close the book on the story that started as an impulse-write on a dreary August afternoon. To the people who've been with me since August, I am truly sorry for all the delays, but believe me, if I had finished the story without them... you probably would have hated it. _

_The first chapter was a teaser which I put out there thinking no one would be interested in this plotline. Well, did you guys ever prove me wrong! So I frantically planned this story, as it went from six chapters to ten chapters to sixteen chapters until it finally settled at twelve._

_As I've said before, this story had been quite the journey, which included three one-month hiatuses to maintain my sanity, including moments where I thought I'd lost it. _

_But my gratitude goes out to my loyal reviewers, to the people who got me through this, and staying with me from start to finish. Thank you. Sera_

* * *

**Epilogue**

The wedding had gone off without a hitch, which was nice after all of the bumps along the way, even if they had nothing to do with the bride and groom. Lois looked beautiful in a dress she never saw herself wearing, and Clark hadn't stopped smiling since he had seen her.

Not that I was one to complain, Lois was one of those brides who allowed her bridesmaids to look good, and Chloe was no exception... even though Lois probably used the dress as a last-attempt to bring us back together. Even though it was green, it also flattered Chloe, bringing out the happiness in her eyes.

Fortunately, we didn't need a dress to bring us back together... we needed a lot of other things, but what mattered was that we worked everything out.

Looking back at Chloe, I realized she had stood up and tinged her knife against her glass to get everyone's attention.

"Thank you... I ask for your patience because I'll be making up my speech as I go. You see, I had this big eloquent speech written out, but a couple days ago... I burnt it. I guess I should have seen it coming, for me, writing letters or speeches never end well."

Seeing the concerned reactions, Chloe quickly continued, "Anyways...the paper... it was crinkled, one of the corners was torn, I think, and there were arrows and cross-out marks everywhere. I know what you're thinking; I probably had a spare copy or heck, a spare hard-drive of it somewhere, but I didn't. I only wanted one copy because it's not like I can just duplicate this speech, you two are really one of a kind, and furthermore, you'll never be defined by crisp white paper with neatly aligned black text. I wanted those tears, crinkles and scratch marks because for you, it was about the struggle, the agony, the secrets."

Chloe shrugged and let her smile shine through.

"But that's what love is. It's about having someone waking up beside you saying 'I love you' and never having its meaning decrease. It's about having someone who, after your high heel breaks, will carry you to a shoe store to buy you another pair. But most importantly, it's about someone who always keeps you grounded or reminds you that you are indeed... um... _human_ and that you make mistakes."

Bart had broken into a quiet chuckle, but Chloe turned to look at him. "Hey, you try coming up with a speech on the spot." Bart quickly quieted up, and Chloe smiled at me before looking back at the married couple.

"When you love someone, you have to take the good and the bad, and live through each experience regardless of the consequences. And yes... I'm still talking about you."

She sipped her champagne and cleared her throat. "In the lives we lead, we tend to forget what we give the people whose lives we save each day. Miraculously, we all seemed to have found someone in our lives to maintain our sanity levels, and it all started with you two. Clark, you'll always be our moral compass, ensuring that we do the right thing, even when the chips are down. Lois, as much as you may not want to hear it, you lead our normal lives. You keep us in line and would always remind us why we do what we do. So it's only fitting that both of you sit where you are today, next to each other, hand-in-hand. Man and wife."

Chloe chuckled and faced the guests once again. "I mean, it took you long enough, but the year Clark spent trying to tell Lois his secret while she already knew was probably one of the most priceless things I have ever witnessed. So thanks for that."

She stopped and stared at the eyes of her beaming best friend and her cousin, who was doing everything to hold back tears. "More importantly, on behalf of the team and everyone whose lives you have touched, thank you... for being Clark and Lois."

The room was silent for a couple moments, until Perry chimed up, "Here here."

That broke everyone out of their trance to start cheering and whistling at the couple, which caused Clark to blush.

Once it quieted down, Chloe looked over in my direction. "Now I'm going to pass it to Oliver, who has also prepared a little something."

I stood up and laid my speech on the table. "Nothing on this 'crisp white paper' could even begin to compare to that. In the end, you two... well, you're something special. If I may, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you. I must be running out of chances, but thanks for having faith in me even when I didn't deserve it. But tonight isn't about me... it's about all of us... this family... but most importantly... To Clark and Lois."

Everyone raised their glass and took a sip as the music came on again.

Chloe found her way back to her seat when I grabbed her arm. "So how about a dance?"

"In a minute... I have something I have to handle first."

I wondered what she could possibly have to do at this moment, but I didn't push it after she kissed my cheek and walked away. Then I heard a familiar voice.

"I'm not sorry for punching you in the stomach that day."

I turned around to face Mia, who looked uncomfortable in her bridesmaid dress. "I deserved it, Mia – _you_ deserved better than that."

"Next time you decide to get out of dodge, at least have the decency to take me with you. These guys are crazy."

Cracking a smile, I said, "They're not all that bad. I heard Clark and Dinah have been training you."

"_They're_ fine...for the most part, they're all fine. It's Bart I'm worried about... can you do anything to get him to back off?"

"Not likely. Ask Chloe, he was fixated on her for years. Just know I have your back if he does anything to you."

"Seriously... no off-switch?"

"'Fraid not. Get used to it, Mia."

Mia rolled her eyes. "Alright Arrow... but I expect us to start training lessons again."

"You go it kid."

"I'm not a kid... it's Speedy now."

I raised an eyebrow. "Did Bart pick that name for you?"

She scoffed as she tried to avoid looking at me. "The one useful thing about him. How did you know?"

Trying to hold back the laughter, I bit my lower lip. Honestly, it was a lucky guess, but Bart was getting to her... that much was apparent. "Monday morning. You know the place."

"Thanks Oliver."

After watching Mia join the group on the dance floor, I noticed Vic standing by the punch bowl. We hadn't really had much time to catch up, so I leaned against the table next to him, looking out at the dancing couples.

"So is it true you're sticking around this time?"

I shrugged a shoulder. "That's the plan."

"Am I allowed to say it's about time?"

"Why not? You've been awfully quiet during this entire time."

Vic let out a chuckle before taking a sip of his drink. "Someone had to with everyone else sticking their noses in your business. I butted in once and it almost destroyed both of you. I should have known that if you needed me, you would come to me."

Thinking of AC's words when I came back, I quickly said, "Water under the bridge, right?"

He nodded. "Just do us all a favour and talk to me next time."

"I'm hoping that I won't have to take you up on that offer."

"Neither do I, but I offer it to you guys none the less to keep your head on straight."

"Who else did you offer it to?"

He pointed over to AC, dancing close to Dinah. "Have you told them that you knew all along that they were dating?"

I smiled. "No, hearing their excuses was way too entertaining. I figured they would tell me when they were ready... but I guess sometimes the direct approach is best."

I walked over to them as they danced, completely oblivious to their surroundings. It was sweet actually, to see them like this. When I got close enough, I cleared my throat, and watched both Dinah and AC quickly try to hide it.

"Guys, relax... I know."

Dinah blushed. "Oh..."

AC placed an arm around Dinah's back. "We were planning on telling you, but..."

Dinah interrupted, "There were more important things for you to face."

"How long?"

Both of them said, "About a year," before letting out a chuckle.

"I'm happy for you."

Dinah looked at AC, then back at me. "We're happy for you too."

It was then my phone alarm started to buzz.

"Sorry, I have to take this."

I opened it up and noticed it was the alarm for my penthouse in Star City. Fortunately, I was able to track down Bart, who had been doing food runs for the last couple of minutes.

"Bart... my alarm went off in Star City, you mind checking on it for me?"

"No worries, bossman... that was me."

"Why were you there?"

Bart shrugged. "I wanted to see how you had been living for the last two years. No offence, but it is in a desperate need of a paint job. There's no personality in that place... it reminds me of a hospital room."

He walked away without a care in the world, but I could tell that there was more to this story, which meant that she was involved. Bart only kept secrets from me when it came to one person.

Walking back to the table, I found her staring at something in her purse.

I pulled out the chair next to her and sat down. "Care to tell me what has Bart going back to Star City?"

Chloe quickly put her purse on the table, and tried to brush it off. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Never leaving her gaze, I grabbed one of her hands. "I'm talking about the next time you want to hide something from me, you should ask John. The moment Bart clams up, I know you're involved."

She sighed and opened up her purse pulling out the photo that I had kept in my desk. "Tess told me you kept this. Part of me wanted to see if she was lying, part of me wanted to know that it was true. I mean, the wallet photo was enough, but if I knew that you kept this in your desk, I wouldn't have waited this long to tell you the truth."

Settling my photo on the table, she continued, "I wish I had called. Our reasons for being apart were so... juvenile."

"Well, we're here now, aren't we?"

Chloe let out a smile and nodded.

Clark held out his hand to Chloe. "Don't suppose that I could borrow her a moment?"

"I don't mind, but it's up to Chloe."

She smiled and accepted his hand. "Lead the way, Clark."

I grabbed her purse to put the photo back, when I noticed there was something else inside. Something of mine, something from that office, something from that drawer.

I looked up and saw Chloe releasing Clark's hand. "Wait... I forgot something." As she turned around, her expression changed when she saw mine.

Pulling the box discreetly in and out of her purse before Clark could see, I raised an eyebrow. "Something I should know?"

She walked up to me and whispered, "I... I wanted to look at it, get used to the idea of possibly wearing that on my finger."

Shaking my head, I handed Chloe her purse. "Don't worry about it. In fact, it's yours."

Chloe nervously looked around. "Oliver, you're not..."

I grabbed her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. "No, I want you to be ready, and this is hardly the time to do it."

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. Today's about Clark and Lois."

"I know, even though it would beat the wedding gift I did get them."

Clark cut in for a moment, "About that, there might have been an _accident_ with your gift."

Chloe glared at Clark, and then back at me. "Maybe we should go somewhere more private."

"Probably a good idea." I grabbed her hand and led her out of the barn.

As we walked into the night, we were constantly looking over our shoulders to make sure that we weren't being followed. Once we knew we were alone, we sat down on the steps on the front porch of the Kent house and looked at the night sky.

Chloe pulled the box out of her purse and stared at the ring. "It is beautiful Ollie. It's just hard imagining that life again. My first time wasn't exactly the smoothest."

I patted her hand. "That's why I want you to hold onto it. Keep looking at it, and when you're ready, let me know. If you're never ready, then so be it. There's no one else I want to wear it."

She shook her head. "I can't... this is probably a family memento or something."

"It was my mother's."

"Exactly."

I traced my hand down her face to move a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "She would love you, I just know it. I want you to know that you're that important to me. That losing you isn't worth having it my way."

"That sounds like something Clark would say."

"Perry actually."

"Really?"

"Yeah, and I shrugged those words off numerous times because I thought that our past would cloud everything."

"Well, who knows? If Lois can get married, anything is possible."

I tried to find the right words to say in response to that, but I had nothing. So I said the only thing that came to mind, "I love you."

Her eyes finally looked up at me. "I love you too."

I smiled. "That right there, worth more than that ring."

"I'm sorry I took so long to say it."

"Don't be." I lowered my arm to wrap it around her shoulder to pull her towards me. "Come here."

She leaned her head against my shoulder and stared up into my eyes. "What did I do to deserve someone like you?"

Holding her close, I returned the gaze and smiled. "Funny, I was thinking the same thing."

After a few minutes, Chloe slowly stood up and held out her hand to me. "I believe I owe you a dance."

"You do."

She wanted to lead me back to the barn, but I pulled her back. "We can head back later."

"There's no music out here."

It was that moment we heard crickets chirping in the distance. Chloe and I tried to hold back the laughter, but it broke through momentarily.

Placing a hand on my shoulder, Chloe smiled. "A little unconventional... but I like it."

Going along with it, I grinned as I wrapped my arm around her waist. "I thought you might."

She let her head rest on my chest as we danced the night away. We thought about heading to the barn in a couple times, but after two years apart, we weren't ready to let go of each other any time soon. Closing our eyes, we tuned out everything except for the sound of our synchronized heartbeats as our feet treaded softly along the pebbled driveway.


End file.
